During Joe Sakic's retirement ceremony, there was one Sharks player in uniform who watched the entire ceremony from their bench, and then three or four who watched the last part of it. Any idea who it was? Rob Blake?-- Kim Lothringer, Centennial

Yes, Kim, it was Blake. But I think there has been some unfair picking on the Sharks' players for "not watching" the Sakic ceremony. The entire team was actually on the bench for about a 10-15 minute stretch of the roughly 45-minute ceremony. And the entire Sharks coaching staff stayed on the bench for the whole thing. The rest of the team went back to the locker room with about 15 minutes left in the ceremony.

I thought the Sharks showed proper respect for No. 19. They had a game to get ready for, don't forget, and can't spend all their time and mental energy watching a guy from another organization.

I've come across photos and videos of Joe Sakic with Quebec wearing No. 88. Any history behind the 88 or the switch to No. 19?-- Matt, Lincoln, Neb.

Sakic wore No. 88 his first season, 1988-89. He wanted No. 19, but Alain Cote, a veteran, had the number and kept it. So Sakic went with the high number because of '88 being his first year. The next year, Cote retired and Sakic got the number back.

Somehow, I misremembered the story of why the number went back to 19 in my original answer, and biffed it. That's what my knowledgeable readers are for - to help me in my old age once in a while. I'm not sure it was the approximately 103 degree temperature I had yesterday when answering questions for the Mailbag, but obviously it didn't help!

88 had he come to the Nordiques after being drafted in 1991, but he never did. The Avs ended up getting a guy named Peter Forsberg instead, and a few others.

When Lindros snubbed the Nords and was traded to Philly, Sakic kept the No. 19, and nobody has ever worn the number in the organization since, and probably never will.

Hello, A.D. Do you know if they made DVDs for the two times that the Avs won the Cup? If they do, where can I buy them?-- Simon Nguyen, Colorado Springs

Simon - No, they are not on DVD. I doubt they ever will be either, but you can always make a DVD yourself. It can be done.

The videos put out by the NHL of the two Avs' Cup years were both on VHS. DVDs were only just starting to come into vogue around 2001, but the league still kept it to VHS for the '01 Cup tribute.

It would definitely be nice if they were put on DVD some day. VHS is a completely obsolete technology now, and really annoying when you're trying to find something in a two-hour tape that you want to see.

I have a collection of hundreds of Avs games on VHS, by the way, along with a huge number of Boston Celtics games from the 1980s. If anybody wants to convert them all to DVD for me, I'll take them out for burgers and fries at Jim's Burger Haven. Anyone, anyone?

Is T.J. Hensick showing signs of improving his overall game (defense, courage, etc.

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Speak up by sending your Avalanche- or NHL-related question to Adrian Dater

)?-- Moreau Jean-Claude, Montreal

Jean-Claude - Well, certainly not so far in the regular season. He hasn't played yet. Hensick has been scratched through the first two games. He was skating as a fourth-line right winger in the final days of practice in training camp, and played a fair amount in the preseason. But Joe Sacco has elected to go with youngsters Ryan O'Reilly and Matt
Hendricks on the fourth line so far, with David Koci.

Hensick is not a big guy, so playing him on the wing seemed like a curious decision by Sacco. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next eight games, that's for sure. Will O'Reilly stay as the fourth-line center, or will he go back to junior and Hensick take over his center job? I'd say it's probably 50-50 right now either way. My hunch has and continues to be that O'Reilly will go back to junior. It's just my gut feeling that the Avs aren't going to go with two 18-year-old guys as half of their center lineup every night.

And, talking with some longtime NHL people last week, they made some points that underscore the danger of keeping a kid so young on your team, and especially playing him on the fourth line. It's not just "ice time" that they need at that age, but "puck time." Kids that age are still developing their puck skills, and they need it on their stick. O'Reilly probably is the first-liner on the Erie Otters and gets the puck on his stick every shift 25 minutes a game. But here,
he's going to get 8-12 minutes a night and not get the puck nearly as much.

The other side of the argument is that O'Reilly will learn so much more at the NHL level, even if it's just watching play from the bench. But it's a risk. It's one thing with a guy like Matt Duchene, because he's getting second-line ice time, and playing on special teams. He's getting lots of puck time. But with O'Reilly, there's a chance you can stunt his growth by playing him scant minutes.

Hensick was a big disappointment last year, though, with four goals in 61 games. Obviously, the coaching staff felt like he didn't earn a starting job with his play in camp. So, he's definitely at an early crossroads in his career.

Is there any chance of Tyler Weiman supplanting Peter Budaj as the backup goaltender?-- Evan, Evergreen

Evan - Eventually, yes. Weiman was one of the final cuts in the preseason, but he didn't play a lot and had a tough outing in the one game he did start, allowing six goals on 36 shots in St. Louis.

I'll be honest: I was really surprised the Avs re-signed Peter Budaj in the offseason. Not only that, but they also gave him a nearly $600,000 raise. I've said this often, that I think Budaj is a great kid and has a great attitude and
works hard and all that, but I just have never been sold on him as an NHL goalie.

But is Weiman NHL material? He's played pretty well in the minors, and chances are he's going to get a shot with the Avs or another NHL team. But it hasn't happened yet, and unless Budaj or Craig Anderson gets hurt, I don't think it will happen this year either.

Call me old fashioned, but I love seeing when a guy doesn't rock the visor -- and if he does, immediately toss it if he's throwin' 'em. Any reason why Chris Stewart took his off for this year? Gritty player with some shakes; glad he's an Av.-- Aaron M., Ann Arbor, Mich.

Aaron - Not sure which Chris Stewart you're referring to, but if it's the one who's played for the Avalanche, he has never worn a visor. Stewart is a VERY important player for the Avs this year, I believe. If he can score 15-20 goals, and I think he can, and be a guy who is tough to move in front of the net -- which creates opportunities for
others to score -- then I think the Avs would have at least a fighting chance at a playoff spot.

He's off to a pretty good start, with an assist in two games and a plus-2. He came into camp a little trimmer than last year, and his quickness seems to have improved slightly. Right now, he's the third-line right winger, but has a chance to move up to second if Marek Svatos falters.

Hey, Adrian. Do you know when the Avs are going to unveil their new third jerseys -- and if the blue ones you had the pic of a while back will be it?-- Joey Suyeishi, Lone Tree

Joey - Yes, the Avs will officially unveil the third jerseys to the public in mid-November. The Avs won't say which game they will be unveiled yet, only that it will be a "mid-November home game." A day or two before the actual game, there will be an unveiling of them at a press conference. The only "mid-November" home game the Avs have is Saturday, Nov. 14, against Vancouver -- a game that will be on "Hockey Night in Canada," so that would seem to be the likely date they'll be shown to the world.

They will be worn 11 times during the season. As far as the pics of them go, the Avs are very sensitive about this. I ran pics purported to be of the new design in a blog a while ago, and the Avs officially had no comment on whether they will look like that or not. I believe they will look a lot like that, but we'll have to wait and see for sure.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story